Our Stories
B2Gold - Generating Economic Impacts and Social Benefits in the Philippines
December 8, 2022
In 2021, B2Gold made nearly $50 million in payments to governments at all levels in the Philippines and paid $17.3 million in employee salaries and benefits. Over $3 million was committed to community investments last year in education, health, infrastructure and livelihood development.
B2Gold President and CEO Clive Johnson recently travelled to the Philippines to meet with government officials and visit the Masbate gold operation. Clive commented favourably on his meetings with key Cabinet Secretaries in the new government, including with the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Secretary of Trade and Investment. Clive also met members of the Philippines resource development community, the Canadian Embassy and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Clive said that in his meeting with the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, both sides highlighted the need for sustainable gold processing operation built on environmental protection, community support and employment generation and mine site rehabilitation. “These are all key priorities for B2Gold wherever we operate.”
“The message we received at all levels was that the new government sees sustainable and responsible natural resource development as an important vector in economic activity, as a generator of jobs and regional development. B2Gold is assisting in this effort.”
In addition to his government meetings, Clive visited the Masbate gold operation, which includes B2Gold’s second largest producing gold processing plant. For the full year 2022, the Masbate gold operation is expected to produce between 215,000 and 225,00 ounces of gold. He highlighted the important economic benefits of the company’s investment in the Masbate gold operation, noting that B2Gold is the largest taxpayer and largest private sector employer on Masbate Island, with nearly 1,000 employees in addition to contract personnel. Nearly 100% of the employees at Masbate are Filipino.
Clive was also pleased to note that the community programs he visited were making a major improvement in people’s lives, including technical and vocational training, and digital jobs programs conducted with the Philippines government, and seed funding for local micro-enterprises, including for many small businesses run by women.
As a world leader in environmentally responsible resource development, B2Gold continues to implement important environmental initiatives around the Masbate gold operations, including mangrove and coral reef restoration.
Looking ahead, Clive said that the Philippines government’s openness to encouraging new investment provides the opportunity for B2Gold to look at further exploration and development projects in the country, including in regions outside the island of Masbate. B2Gold has committed to the formation of a new wholly owned subsidiary company that will be given the mandate to look at such additional opportunities in the Philippines.
